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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22395556">confessions under the mistletoe - roman ahcan</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/penaltbox/pseuds/penaltbox'>penaltbox</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Men's Hockey RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>College Hockey, F/M, Hockey</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-01-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-01-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 02:21:11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,201</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22395556</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/penaltbox/pseuds/penaltbox</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>confessions under the mistletoe - roman ahcan</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The holiday party is in full swing as you walk up to Alex, saying your goodbye to Roman. He’d been the reason you were there in the first place and you knew you’d find him later. For now, you wanted to go see the cute boy he was teammates with. </p><p>“Hey you,” you smile, intentionally putting your hand on his arm so he notices you. </p><p>He looks over and smirks a little, leaning in for a hug, “hey, pretty. I like that sweater.”</p><p>He reaches one hand out, tugging gently on the side of the ugliest sweater you could find at the thrift store. You laugh a little, taking a sip of the drink you’d grabbed as soon as you got to the bar. You easily fall into a conversation with Alex, letting the flirty comments roll out easily. </p><p>You didn’t necessarily want anything with him, but he was cute and obviously a big deal as far as the team was concerned. Other girls watched as you easily held his attention and maybe it was more that than actually talking to him that you liked. </p><p>You glance in the direction Roman had gone and catch his eye quickly, always seeming to find each other. He lifts his beer bottle up in your direction, a silent ask of how you’re doing. You smile at him and nod. He always made sure you were safe and you were sure your brother was behind that. </p><p>Eric and Roman had grown up the best of friends and even though they drove you nuts, you were lost when they left for college. Eric stayed in Minnesota for school, but you didn’t want to follow your brother to college, so you picked a different school. </p><p>After one visit to Madison you were sold and Eric made Roman swear he’d look out for you. Roman agreed, always used to having you around and now that you were grown up, he figured it wouldn’t be an issue. </p><p>You had to push your feelings for Roman to the side, knowing Eric would never let that fly. And you were convinced Roman always saw you as a little sister anyways so you tried to focus on other people that would maybe reciprocate feelings. It didn’t always work though considering you hung out with Roman so often. </p><p>Alex is still talking, off on a subject you have no interest in, but you pretend to be engaged with him. He looks ridiculous in the elf sweater and earmuffs he has on, which you have to focus on not laughing at. You tip your drink back but realize it’s empty at this point. </p><p>You frown and interrupt Alex at a semi-low point in his rambling, saying you needed to go grab a new drink. He nods, letting you go with barely a glance. You carefully make your way to the bar, swerving around all the bodies that packed the building. </p><p>You come up behind Tarek, tapping his shoulder to hopefully slide up to the bar and order. He glances back and smiles at you when he realizes who it is. </p><p>“Hey!” He says, happily giving you as much of a hug as he can in the busy area. </p><p>“Tarek, hi!” You say, just as happy to see the sweet boy, “I just need to get in and order a drink.”</p><p>He shakes his head, leaning in, “what are you drinking? I’ll buy this one for you.”</p><p>You blush a little, but tell him your choice and he quickly flags down a bartender to get it. He turns towards you, handing the drink over. If there was anyone that had caught your attention when Roman had first introduced you to the team it had been Tarek, but he was kind of accounted for so you never pushed your luck. </p><p>He glances over your shoulder and points, “weren’t you talking to Alex before?”</p><p>You frown and turn a little, looking to where he was pointing. You find Alex with his arm around some girl’s waist, leaning in close to talk to her. You’re not upset, but you’re not surprised either. Alex was always getting attention from someone and you couldn’t seem to keep a guy’s attention yet at school. </p><p>You shrug and turn back to Tarek, “go figure. The kid’s popular. I should go find Roman.”</p><p>“He was right over there with Max and Dom last I saw,” he motions to your right. </p><p>“Thank you for the drink, Tarek. You’re the best!” You say, giving him another quick hug before sliding back into the crowd to find your favorite boy. </p><p>You finally catch sight of Dom’s ridiculous costume and know Roman won’t be far from him. Much to your happiness you see Roman right next to him and head over quickly, knowing he was your safe spot in all the chaos. </p><p>He’s looking around the room, tip toeing to see over people like he’s looking for someone. You laugh when you realize it’s probably you, so you save him some strain. </p><p>“Ro!” You call out, his head whipping in your direction. You give him a little smile and he relaxes instantly. </p><p>He holds his arm out, letting you slip under it easily and wind your arm around his back as you lean into his side. He leans down and kisses your head, making your cheeks flush. Thankfully they were already red from the amount of people in the room, but you’re sure they somehow got darker. </p><p>“You scared me! I thought you left or something. Last I looked you were with Alex and then you very much were not anymore,” he laughs, looking down at you. </p><p>He must not like the look on your face, a frown turning his lips. You notice and shake your head, not wanting him to worry at all. </p><p>“I’m fine, Ro. I swear I am. I don’t want anything with Alex anyways, but I’m not surprised he was talking to a girl as soon as I walked away from him.”</p><p>Roman sighs, “You’re too good for him anyways. I wouldn’t let you try and date him.”</p><p>“I know, but I can’t keep a guy’s attention. They always find someone else,” you admit, your filter starting to disappear with drink #2. </p><p>Roman shakes his head a little and squeezes you closer. Max comes back over to your area then and gives you both a look. </p><p>“Hi,” he says, giving you a knowing smile. You can’t help but turn and press your face into Roman’s side, knowing he saw through it all. </p><p>It had been the second week of school when Max had approached you and said he could tell you liked Roman. You were floored that he saw it so easily, but he explained that having sisters gave him that power of knowing better. He never mentioned anything to Roman, but he always gave you a look that told you he knew. </p><p>Roman laughs as you hide against him, not knowing any wiser as to why. He probably figured you found Max cute or something and you weren’t about to tell him the real reason why. </p><p>So you spend the night like that, hanging out with Roman, Max, and Dom like you had all year so far. They were your people at this point and you liked it that way. Eventually things begin to slow down as it gets later and you feel yourself getting tired. </p><p>You look up at Roman and pout a little, waiting for him to notice. He glances down and does a double take when he catches it, smiling immediately. </p><p>“What’s that look for?” He asks as his grip tightens for a second on your hip. </p><p>“I’m tired, Ro,” you say, trying not to sound too whiny. </p><p>He nods and checks the time, his eyes going wide, “yeah, let’s go. I’ll take you back to your place.”</p><p>He holds his hand out and you get a brave streak suddenly as you lace your fingers with his. He squeezes your hand and leads the way out of the bar, making you feel a little more confident that he let you do that. </p><p>He pulls out his phone and orders an Uber, not even considering walking back to your side of campus. It’s chilly out and you shiver immediately from the cold wind. Roman pockets his phone and pulls you closer, wrapping his arms around your shoulders. </p><p>You sigh and press your face into his chest, mumbling a ‘thank you’ against his shirt. He rubs your back, trying to keep you as warm as he can while you wait. You try not to think about it too much as you sit there with him. You seemed to fit so easily in his arms and you tucked right into his chest, his chin leaning down on your head. You were just comfortable with each other. </p><p>The Uber shows faster than you expected and Roman holds the door open so you can get in first. You try not to pout about the fact you don’t get to be pressed against him anymore. The ride back is mostly silent and now there’s no reason to have any physical contact, but you let your hand slide across the seat towards him. Maybe you could find a reason. </p><p>You think he doesn’t notice but then his hand slides over yours, giving another tiny squeeze. You keep looking out the window, but you can’t help the smile that’s on your face. It feels like a win to you. </p><p>The street lights fly by as you get closer and closer to your dorm room. You know Roman will make sure you get in safe and say good night before going back to his place. But you don’t want just that tonight, and maybe it’s the haze of the alcohol, but you’re convinced he should stay longer than normal this time. </p><p>You hardly wait until you’re inside the dorm hall to start talking, but Roman is still holding your hand and your buzz isn’t wearing off. So you sigh loudly and when he looks at you it all comes rushing out.</p><p>“Sometimes I wish you weren’t my brother’s best friend. I wish I was just allowed to like you and I could hold your hand all the time and you didn’t have to leave right away when you bring me back here. I chase after guys like Tarek and Alex but I don’t want either of them,”</p><p>“You’re so good to me and it’s not fair because Eric would kill me if he knew I liked you after all these years. And you’re probably so sick of having to watch over me every weekend because you never can just cut loose and have fun with the boys or flirt with girls.”</p><p>You have to stop and take a deep breath as Roman leans back against the wall next to your door. He’s got a one sided smile on his face that you aren’t quite familiar with but you can’t help thinking it looks absolutely adorable. </p><p>“Are you done?” He asks softly, still holding your hand as his thumb rubs over your knuckles. </p><p>You sigh and nod, looking down at where you’re standing between his legs. You weren’t sure when you’d gotten so close to him but you also don’t plan to be stepping away unless he makes you. </p><p>“Eric would kill us if anything happened,” he starts off and you think you know where he’s going, “but I’m kind of sick of caring about that. You don’t hold me back at all, you know that right? I like having you around. I don’t want other girls hanging around me.”</p><p>You look up at him quickly, trying to connect what he was saying. You must have quite the look on your face because a laugh quickly falls from his lips. He looks over at your door and points up at the fake mistletoe your roommate had hung up. </p><p>“Is that thing legit? Do you follow that rule?” Roman asks, his eyebrows raised as he waits for your answer. </p><p>You blush when you realize what he’s asking and nod, “I mean my roommate and her boyfriend use it as an excuse. I guess I’ve never been in the situation to use it?”</p><p>“Come here then,” he mumbles, leaning in slowly. You meet him halfway, your knees practically going out when he kisses you. </p><p>When he finally pulls back you both try and fight off smiles, but you lose quickly. You laugh a little and lean into his chest, hugging his waist. He kisses the side of your head and holds you tight. </p><p>“You’re gonna cause me so much trouble, aren’t you?” He laughs, looking down at you. </p><p>You glance up at him and nod, “yeah, probably. I hope that’s okay.”</p><p>“At least trouble is so cute. I think I can figure things out for her.”</p><p>You stand up and reach over, unlocking your door after you untangle from Roman. You look over at him and take a deep breath before you ask him the question you kept mulling over in your head.</p><p>“Stay tonight?” </p><p>He smiles and nods, kissing your cheek as he pushes you both into your room quickly.</p>
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